


Five Things Nick Changed for Natalie (and One Thing He Didn't)

by MelissaTreglia



Category: Forever Knight
Genre: 5 Things, 5+1 Things, Christmas Fluff, Disney References, F/M, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vampires, Vignette, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-09
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2017-11-24 07:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/631948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaTreglia/pseuds/MelissaTreglia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of loosely connected vignettes about the less obvious aspects of Nick and Nat's (still) rather unique relationship. Not written for any reason other than my own enjoyment. I hope you enjoy it too. Includes: "Cold," "Language," "Ho-Ho-Ho!," "No, Mr. Knight I Expect You to Dine" and "La Petite Sirene."</p><p><i>For as long as she'll let him, he'll happily bask in her warmth.</i> There are six little ways Nick has shown his love for Natalie: five are changes he made for her, and one thing that stayed the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cold

Nick has always liked touching Natalie. Not the sexual kind (although he's sure that would be absolutely _fantastic_ too, if he could), but the millions of little bits of physical interaction and intimacies mortals tend to take for granted every day. He especially likes the simple activity of holding her hand.  
  
One time, in the middle of a Torontonian winter, he came out from the snow and laid his hand upon hers. Natalie yelped and jerked away from him. At his wounded expression, she was quick to reassure him that he hadn't invaded her personal space, but that his hands were too cold for her comfort.  
  
She then launched into an explanation about heat transference, and how those with higher body temperatures are more sensitive to cold. Being a vampire and creating little body heat of his own meant he was a natural conductor for whatever ambient temperatures he was exposed to and, at the same time, was rendered completely oblivious to them. Which meant that, in the subzero chill, he was essentially a walking ice sculpture and didn't even know it. And no warm-blooded human wanted to be touched by a walking ice sculpture, no matter how friendly the walking ice sculpture in question might be (even if it was a really pretty, sparkly one).  
  
 Ever since then, Nick bundles up when the temperature starts to drop, wearing gloves and a thick coat so he can snuggle with Natalie, hold her hand or run his fingers through her hair without making her feel uncomfortable. And, for as long as she'll let him, he'll happily bask in her warmth (and, secretly, he thinks of her as melting all that's dark and cold in him away, but he can never tell her so because he's afraid it would come out wrong).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This particular vignette, "Cold," was inspired by the tag scene of the third season episode _Fallen Idol_... because I was wondering why the heck a vampire would wear ~~mittens~~ really thick knit gloves that looked like mittens when Nat's hands were bare (the only time he ever wore them). Until he grasped her hand with his gloved one. **_Awww!_**


	2. Language

He always speaks in the language of whatever country he's in, trying to fit in as closely as possible. His accent is modified from centuries of relying on local vocabulary—from the New World to the Land of the Rising Sun, and from Scandinavia to the Outback.

He's crisscrossed the globe enough times that he would have bankrupted Delta airlines with the amount of frequent flyer miles centuries ago. (Of course, they didn't exist back then and the world was so much larger than it is now, but the point still stands, he thinks.)

No matter where he goes, it's always the same—immersing himself in the culture, disappearing into the crowd, making himself as undistinguished as possible. Keeping to the Code of his people by not making any waves and not revealing his origin, no matter how subtly.

He hadn't spoken in his native medieval Dutch since he left home for the Crusades all those centuries ago. Not even his clan of immortal companions have heard him speak his mother tongue. When they'd met him, French was the language of commerce in the western world, and he relied on the lessons taught him by his childhood tutor to communicate with them.

His reliance on common vernacular has always been the way of things. Until her. Because the words of her native language—English, which he's spoken since the American Colonies were still property of the British Crown—is still painfully awkward and synthetic to his mind, as it's a mix of half a dozen different languages with a bit of Teutonic fricatives thrown in for flavouring.

English is a funny language, and it will never stop feeling unnatural to him. It disconnects him from feeling, from being and from translating pure essence into speech.

He's tried to find ways to tell her exactly how he feels, but only his native dialect provides the subtleties, the flow and the inflection to translate the music of his silent heart into words. So, for the first time in centuries and for her ears alone, he murmurs sweet nothings in Brabantic, telling her just how much he treasures her and how she has brought light into the deep shadows of his existence. How she feels like home.

Though she doesn't speak a word of it, she somehow knows exactly what he means, snuggling deeper into his embrace by the fire and murmuring "I love you too."

And that says it all, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."_  
>  —James D. Nicoll, rec.arts.sf-lovers.


	3. Ho-Ho-Ho!

Nick had not celebrated Christmas since he was brought over. At first, it had seemed blasphemous for an unholy creature to commemorate the birth of the Christ child. Then it was due to his sour outlook on what he perceived to be the increasingly materialistic attitude of the Western world towards Christmas.

Bah humbug, indeed.

Only Natalie was ever able to cajole him into donning an ill-fitting red suit with a pillow against his stomach, along with a matching hat and a scratchy beard. That, and the knowledge that it was for a good cause, as well as taking up the mantle for the detective who had played the jolly fellow in previous years.

Though seeing the eyes of those little children light up, and their mothers sobbing in gratitude of the kids having a real Christmas, despite their personal upheavals… that made him feel pretty damn good, too.

If there was a Heaven, Schanke must be smiling down at his aloof partner becoming more willing to not be Joe Cool all the time. 

Nat’s idea for Nick to be the shelter’s Santa this year certainly had merit. And the glow of happiness in her eyes as she glanced at him (while passing gifts to the kids, and possibly being the most darling elf he’d ever seen) was the only gift he’d really wanted.

Though he could do with a less irritating beard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended to write this for [Greer](http://archiveofourown.org/users/greerwatson)'s Christmas Drabble Challenge... but it turned out to be more than twice as long as the 100-word requirement. Oh well. At least it still qualifies for my 5 Things series!
> 
> Happy Holidays, FK fen! May all your wishes come true, and may you be with those you love at this end of the year.


	4. No, Mr. Knight, I Expect You to Dine

He hadn't eaten solid food in eight hundred years.

Oh sure, he'd made it look like he was eating during social gatherings or, more recently, played it off as having had a large meal before arriving. But he'd never actually swallowed any kind of solid food. He'd adroitly spit it into a napkin if he was forced, and spend most of the meal pushing food around his plate. He'd also engage his well-meaning host in chat, so they were less likely to notice how much food had actually made it to his mouth.

But Natalie was far too observant for him to get away with such methods.

She believed that gradually reintroducing his system to solid food was an important part of attaining a physical transformation. But all the food she ever gave him—whether solid or pureed into a drinkable substance—only ever tasted like ash in his mouth.

So he would choke down at least one bite, at least one mouthful, for her. He couldn't manage more than that, but he would try at least that. It would probably sit in his stomach like a rock until he ended up praying to the porcelain goddess later, but he knew Natalie meant well.

He would try—not for himself, really, but for her. Because it mattered to her, it mattered to him. And, even though he'd be sick from it later, it was worth the cheerful encouragement and the beautiful smile she gave him.

Her smile was worth any price.


	5. La Petite Sirene

Movie night was an established tradition for them at this point. It was a not-quite-but-almost date, as he couldn’t actually take her on a _real_ date. Not because of his “sun allergy” (although that certainly did factor into the equation), but because her hours at the morgue varied too frequently to make solid plans.

So, he turned his flat into an impromptu movie theatre, playing anything Natalie wanted on his big-screen television.

He had only one rule for the film selection process: absolutely no romance. Natalie had meekly agreed that the love stories put to film tended to be pretty cheesy and cliched anyway.

He didn’t tell her the real reason—that those kinds of movies would just remind him of all that he couldn’t have. With vampires, there are no happy endings… just blood, death and ashes.

Comedy however, was quite welcome in his home, as humor is difficult to come by when your life’s a Shakespearean tragedy. They had howled while watching _Blazing Saddles_ and had nearly fallen off their respective seating during _Dracula: Dead and Loving It._

Comedy, being tragedy plus time, was the perfect antidote for existential angst. As were the _Star Trek_ films.

And science fiction was great. The _Terminator_ movies were definitely engrossing.

History wasn’t out of the question either. Though he tended to rail at the historical inaccuracies, the _Indiana Jones_ films were chosen more for the action than the quality of their research.

But romance was definitely a no-no. Even rom-coms were refused.

But Natalie managed to sneak one in. It was a Disney animated film, of all things, so he wasn’t prepared to turn it down. After all, Disney did kid films. And little kids wouldn’t care about romance, right?

The film, of course, was _The Little Mermaid_. And sweet little betailed Ariel wasn’t just in love with her prince, but in love with life. Human life. And when the title character started to sing “Part of Your World” in a gorgeous bell-clear voice, he knew _exactly_ why Natalie had picked it. She knew him far too well for the film not to have been a deliberate choice on her part.

He had to restrain the urge to squirm in his seat throughout the rest of the story, with Natalie stealing occasional glances at him. Was she trying to gauge his reaction? Or was she simply worried about his silence? Maybe she thought he hated it.

He didn’t _hate_ it. Not really. Okay, so it was a bit on-the-nose for him. But it was also beautifully rendered, and quite genuinely entertaining.

And he found himself humming the songs, for several weeks after the credits had rolled, in spite of himself. The music was insanely catchy.

But it did strike him how similar Ariel’s story was to his own.

Overbearing father figure? Check.

Fascination with humanity? Check.

Dealing with a fraudulent individual who promised your heart’s desire, then took everything you had? Well, that deserved more than one checkmark in his book, sadly.

A human who obviously cared deeply for their non-human counterpart? Yup. Ariel had her prince, and Nick was very fortunate to have Natalie in his life.

The two of them saving each other over and over? Uh-huh.

But Ariel got her happy ending—her humanity and her beloved. He had yet to achieve that for himself.

It took him awhile, but he eventually figured out why Natalie had chosen the film. It was one of her more subtle, calculated reminders not to give up hope. To have a little faith that everything would work out in the end.

They re-watched it a few months later as Nick’s selection, and he saw it with new eyes. And if he shed a few tears, Natalie was kind enough not to say anything.

It _was_ a love story. And it was a good one.

By the end of the film that second time, he grasped her hand and said:

“Okay, we can watch a romantic movie next time.”

“Have you seen _Pretty Woman_?” she asked. When he shook his head, she replied with a smile, “You’ll love it.”

So love made him sentimental. So sue him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “La Petite Sirene” is actually the real title for _The Little Mermaid_ in Francophone countries. You can find various clips of the French version on Youtube. Most of the clips are the songs we know and love, sung in French (naturally). I loved _The Little Mermaid_ as a kid and, now that I’m all grown up, it’s struck me how similar Ariel and Nick’s stories were.
> 
> I love mermaids almost as much as I love vampires.
> 
> Also, movie night at Nick’s place is a popular trope among FK fen after the episode “False Witness” came out, with its adorable popcorn-throwing tag scene. The last bit of that scene was actually a joke Ger played on Cath, and she played along, resulting in a moment that us NNPackers have squealed over ever since. 
> 
> I just decided to look at Nick and Nat’s movie nights from a slightly different angle, is all.


End file.
